Jam in the Dam is just around the corner and I can't wait ! I'll try to write during the festival but I can't garantee. Of course, you'll have a full review afterwards.

Anyway, it's time to announce what's behind those fancy cards. It will be a way to promote the blog while I'm in Amsterdam but not only. As you noticed, there's a QR Code on one side. This code is a link to this site using Goo.gl. My initial plan was to detect those who come here from this link but, unfortunatly, it's not possible with this kind of redirection... And as I can't re-print the cards with another QR Code, I had to find another way.

So that's why there's a button on the right column that leads to a form to enter the contest.

Because, yes, there's a contest.

All you have to do is enter the end of the link encoded on the QR Code to participate. If you can upload a picture of the actual card you found in Amsterdam (or elsewhere) you have a second chance to win !

Winners will be randomly choosen among valid emails received from the contest form between now and Monday 30th April 20:00 (France time). An eMail is valid if it contains the right QR Code. An eMail counts twice if it contains a picture of the card. If several eMails are received from the same IP address, they will be deleted. This contest is open for European residents only.

The story I'm talking about is the one I was in with Dry Goods, Phish's online store.

My first order was made 7 years ago, on Halloween 2003, for the Las Vegas 2000 dvd. My last order was on september 22th 2010.

I received the package yesterday and I let you see how well it was made.

For a 148$ order, even if I used a 1$ International shipping coupon (the code is GUILL3433, feel free to use it, it works once by account but you can create several of them), it's very poorly protected, right ?

So the only missing item is the signed drawing, simply noted as "canceled" in the invoice. Glade I pre-ordered... I pre-ordered on september 22th Moss CD and Coral Sky DVD which were to be released on october 19th. My order whould have been shipped by that date but it was actually shipped on october 18th, after I wrote 2 emails to the customer service and you. So what I wonder is this : If my order have been packed to be shipped on the announced date, would I have got the pre-order bonus ?

But when my order finally arrived, I was surprised to see how my items was packed in the box. When I write "packed", I should write "throwed in". They were put in the box without order and with almost no protection. As the parcel was way too large for what it contained, the items were moving all over the place inside it. Moreover, to Moss vinyl was in the middle, lying half in the rolled poster, half on the bottom of the box... with 2 heavy guitar tab books ON IT where they could have been put flat on the bottom ! Have a look at the attached file, I've just remove 1 paper "protection" which can be seen in the bottom of the picture.

Thanksfully, nothing was heavily damaged. The vinyl and a book have a fold corner and the plastic of the Coral Sky dvd a small crack but nothing unusual for a Dry Goods order... I feel lucky with that when I see how the things were put in the package...

To make things clear : I've never received a package made with less care, ever. And i've been heavily ordering things on Internet for several years, from several websites and from several country. Even with the worst eBay seller i've deal with, my items were better packed. And I won't mention again delays and shipping fees.

Meanwhile, I received the refund for the Moss CD. I thank you for that.

Usually, I'm not the type of guy who complains for nothing. But my emails to Dry Goods and you since last year were the only one I sent for a problem with an Internet order for 3 years. And that's 2 Dry Goods orders, 2 problems.

But in the end of the day, as I told you last week, my decision is settled. I won't ever made an order from Dry Goods while Music Today is in charge. I'll order the new DVD from Amazon and get the bonus CD from eBay. I will be quicker, cheaper and I'm more likely to get the pre-order bonus.

So Phish has officially anounced what we heard about several days ago, the double DVD/CD bundle of this summer's Alpine Valley shows. The pre-order from Dry Goods comes with an excusive CD of past shows at this venue.

But although these shows are great (listen to, download and share some tracks bellow) and the bonus CD a great gift, I won't order it, at least from Dry Goods.

Yes, after last year's Joy Box fiasco, I hoped Music Today would have made some improvements in the way they treat their customers but I was wrong.In september, the guy I was in contact with last year gave me a 1$ internatinal shipping code. I've used it the best I could with a 148$ order that included the Coral Sky DVD+CD, Moss CD+Vinyl and some other items that are "heavy", at least for the shipping fees, like playing cards and tablature books.

As I'm writing this, my order placed on the 22th september is "partialy" somewhere between USA and France. Yes, the order status on the Dry Goods site has been changed from "In process" to "Partial Ship" after I asked the customer service why it was shipped several weeks after the Coral Sky and Moss release.

But just like last year, I had to ask Music Today's Account Manager directly to have an answer. I leave you with our correspondance.

I placed an order on 22th september that included Pre-order for Coral Sky and Moss (order number is 26200383).Both items are now released for several days but my order status on the Dry Goods web site is still "in progress".I'd like to know when it will be shipped ?

I'm sad to see that, after last year's Joy Box fiasco (ordered on 11th august 2009 and received on 27th january 2010, see here), international shippings are still very slow...

I do hope you will answer me, not like last year where I had to contact J. W. directly...

I got no answer from your about the delay of my order.I checked this morning and every item seems to be available on the site except for the Joey Arkenstat CD (PHCD12). If that's the reason of the delay , the least thing you could do is keeping me updated and response to my query.

I hope this order won't take as much time to be delivered as last year's because I will move to a new house next month !

From Dry Goods StoreTo Yome NetSan28th October 2010

Recently you requested assistance from our email support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

Response (Sherry) 10/28/2010 04:56 PM

Hello,

Our records indicate that your order shipped on 10/28/10. International orders ship via IMEX Bulk. We are not provided individual tracking numbers. Regardless of delivery location and due to recent border restrictions, International delivery can sometimes take up to 24 business days. IMEX delivers to your local mail carrier who then delivers to the address provided with your order. If you do not receive your order by the 24th business day, please check with your local post office as they may be holding your order. If you are unable to locate your order, please verify with us your correct shipping address and we will investigate your delivery issue.

If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to contact us.

Is that too much to ask for an answer for my question from a "customer service" ?

I'll isolate the question for a more easy read :

What item has not been shipped and when will it be ?

FromJ.W. <xxx@musictoday.com>From Yome NetSan4th November 2010

Hi G –

Sorry for the lack of reply on this from our CS team.

I should have a resolution for you today. Just confirming a few refund amounts...

Thanks,

FromJ.W. <xxx@musictoday.com>From Yome NetSan4th November 2010

Sorry to say that we had a shortage on the bonus cards (signed by Mike) that were to be included with each order of Moss, and the inventory on those cards was zeroed out when your order was due to be packed.

I’ve refunded you the amount of the Moss CD ($12) since the signed card was likely a big factor in your decision to pre-order from us. I’m sorry about the shortage, and I am sure it’s disappointing. We had requested a second batch of cards from management when the shortage was noticed, but we were told there would be no more. That said, I am going to explain that you are one of the customers affected by the Joy Box issue. It is unlikely that we will get more, but perhaps they will find a way to help make this right with some other item.

I’ll let you know what I find out.

Thanks,

From Yome NetSanTo J.W. <xxx@musictoday.com>4th November 2010

Whaw... I didn't expect that...

Indeed, I order my Phish items from Dry Goods because of the exclusive pre-order bonus. Indeed, it's very disappointing, but I can understand that Mike Gordon has better to do than sign a new batch of cards ;)

So that's the reason why my order is noted as "Partial ship" on the website ?What about the Joey Arkenstat CD (PHCD12) that I ordered but appears to be sold out on the Dry Goods site ? I asked CS with this question but got no answer.Before I placed my last order, I also asked CS 2 questions about the last Mike Gordon Live CD (who isn't in Dry Goods no more but is available from livephish.com) and when would the second leg of summer tour 2010 (August) will be available on CD on Dry Goods. Needless to say, I got no answer.I finally ordered the MG CD from livephish.com on the 9th oct. and I received it on the 20th.Just a reminder, I placed my order on Dry Goods on the 22th sept. and still waiting for it...

I'm sorry to bother you with such things but writing to is the only way I found to have answers to my messages. How do you other customers do ?I got no news of why my order has been delayed, I got no "reel" answer to my message to the CS and my order "magicaly" got shipped the day the CS finally answered... with a "ready-to-be-sent" that almost sounds like "yeah it's shipped from some days, you should have seen it for the site !".I'm sad to see that these problems haven't been solved since last year. "Communication is the key", that's what we agreed about at the end but nothing has changed...

Alphine Valley 2010, the new DVD/CD from Phish has been officially announced today. Once again, an exclusive bonus CD is given with each order. What would make me pre-order it right away just one month ago have no effect on me right now. I guess I'll go order this item from Amazon and get the bonus CD from eBay. Even it wouldn't be easy to find it, it would be less worries than waiting for it to be shipped from Dry Goods... And I don't speak about the shipping fees (even if I thank you for the 1$ shipping code you sent me, that's the order I'm waiting and I use the opportunity of this code to make a almost 150$ order).

So, I hope you'll come back to me with some good news about the "Partial ship" soon.

I'd like to know when will my order #24332894 be shipped ?It has been pushed back because of the Joy Box and I received the following email stating that it will ship during the first week of November. It's know the 17th november and I got no news.

You can understand that a $225 order made on 11th August and not shipped on the 17th November might be quite annoying for a "valued" international customer.And yet, I paid $59 for shipping only !I remember that it was written on the Pre-order Joy page that the Box will be shipped on a first-ordered/first-shipped basis. I think that I order it on the first day the Joy box was listed and I read on multiple message boards over the Internet that people got an email when it was shipped and have already received their order !

I'm glad I choose 12-18 month as size of the baby items I ordered. My July-borned baby would have been too tall if I had choose the size depending on the date I should have received my order...Oh and a shirt included in my order is on sale know and cost $5 less...

My second "fear" about my order is that I hope the items will be very well protected in the parcel than with my last orders. I don't want to wait several month for the Joy Box for finally received it crushed...

I received the Mike Gordon's Green Sparrow vinyl and Trey Anastasio Original Broadway Style and Time Turns Elastic vinyls with crushed corners because of a too small parcel. I emailed you several times about this issue with pictures of the vinyls but I got no answer.

Oh and I'm still waiting for an answer for my october 2008 email about a 10% off coupon I got because of the delay of the Green Sparrow vinyl that never worked (see far bellow)...

I'm a great Phish fans and a long time Dry Goods customer. I got used of not having the choice to buy Phish items elsewhere because I'm french and paying a very very expensive price for shipping.I'm sorry to say that but since Dry Goods is managed by Music Today, the customer service is very poor.I find insulting that, as a "gift" for my patience, you give me a reduction coupon for a next order, on which you will own money anyway !

I'm sorry to become a little bit angry but you can understand that this situation is getting on my nerves...

I'm waiting patiently for your answer.

[UPDATE on 18th November] I don't know if my yesterday eMail has anything to do with it but...

Your order has been shipped by IMEX STANDARD.

[UPDATE on 23th November] I received today an answer for my mail. It's a standard answer for not received item from Dry Goods, I had word-by-word the same answer when I asked about my Clifford Ball dvd several month ago. By the way, it's ridiculous to pay 59$ for shipping and not having a tracking system...

Our records indicate that your order shipped on 11/17/09. International orders ship via IMEX Bulk. We are not provided individual tracking numbers. Regardless of delivery location and due to recent border restrictions, International delivery can sometimes take up to 24 business days. IMEX delivers to your local mail carrier who then delivers to the address provided with your order. If you do not receive your order by the 24th business day, please check with your local post office as they may be holding your order. If you are unable to locate your order, please verify with us your correct shipping address and we will investigate your delivery issue.

If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to contact us.

I discovered Phish live with the bonus tracks from Junta. They where cool and funny (Icculus !!) or barly listenable (Union Federal). Anyway, when I found A Live One in the music store of the Pont de la Machine in Geneva (unfortunatly closed now), I made my parents buy it to me for Christmas without a question !

Of course, it was a life-changing experience.

I got Slip Stitch and Pass and Hampton Comes Alive from the same store in a span of maybe 2 years.

I remember listening to A Live One in front of my computer with my brother playing Final Fantasy VII by my side. Taken by the music, I used to "play the keyboard" and getting my brother upset.I first listened to Slip Stitch and Pass in the train from Geneva to Valence, right after buying it with my birthday money. It stayed in my player for several month.Hampton Comes Alive was also a really great experience. I listened to it a lot while playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on my computer.

I bought the other boxset several years later, when they have been respectively released. Each time I could, I pre-ordered the release to grab the bonus CD that came with it. The Left Nuts CD was given with the Walnut Creek DVD.

As a side note, I must admit that I had some let down with some of the releases. While the packaging used to bee very cool (Hampton Comes Alive especially), the recent ones are very cheap-looking (Vegas 96 or At the Roxy). But more important, the sound quality is really bad in At the Roxy. The voices have a reverb effect that too annoying and just ruins the vibe ! Too bad as I was really waiting for this multi-show release.

Nevertheless, I have found memories of listening to it while making levels in Little Big Planet on my PS3. By the way, I have a project for several month to do some Phish-related levels. I could even mix that with a contest to make you win some rare Phish-related CDs, who knows...

I was watching the Clifford Ball, day 2 set 2, Run Like An Antelope. A girl was coming on stage to dance on a rope when my wife came back from work. I hit the X button of my PS3 controller (I watch my DVD with my PS3 for its better HD upscaling) to pause... but instead of freezing the frame, it switched to a footage of Trey and Mike on a couch, in front of a TV, watching this very girl coming on stage to dance on a rope !!

Speaking of a freaky moment !

Then I realized it was an easter egg hidden in the dvd that you can view when you press Enter on your remote. I did a search on the internet about it and found nothing but a vaguely reference on the week4paug forum where someone states that there is another bonus footage in The Curtain on this same dvd.But as it's rather annoying to watch the whole DVD while pressing Enter all the time, I went to search for the bonus videos with my computer.

I came upon (a lamp post) a full bunch of new footage in the structure of the DVD (17 videos to be precise). I search the 7 DVDs of the box set but there ware hidden videos only in this #5.In all the videos, the band is in front of Clifford Ball footage and make comments, jokes or laugh at themselves. It's like a multi-angle feature or a video version of the audio commentary you find on many movie DVD. The footage comes from the same "session" of some videos found in the bonus DVD of the set (#7). I don't know when it was filmed but it's rather old as Marley is still here. They are with another guy whom I can't identify. He looks like a young Dave Matthews but it may be Kevin Shapiro.The songs featured are The Curtain, Fluffhead, Runaway Jim, Run Like a Antelope and Slave to the Traffic Lights. Some comments are really epic if you ask me, like "That laser guy should be f**ing beaten" or, speaking of Mike's t-shirt, "You look like you're radioactive".

So I ripped them and decided to show them here as it's far more easy than keeping hitting Enter on the remote... Ok, it's rather poor quality when you compare to the new Big Cypress footages showed in the The8tre yesterday but anyway...